SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

Kangju

  • Beyond the Frontier: Wang Zhaojun [Western Han]

    •

    Juan

    A New Emperor, A Fractured Steppe When Emperor Zhao of Han died childless in 74 BCE, the court faced a succession crisis. Regent Huo Guang first installed Liu He, King of Changyi, but deposed him after just 27 days – accused of committing 1,127 improper acts, from debauchery to neglect of ritual.

  • Reconnecting the West: Zhang Qian’s Final Mission [Western Han]

    •

    Juan

    The Hammer Falls on the Xiongnu In 121 BCE, Emperor Wu appointed the young general Huo Qubing as General of the Chariots and Cavalry, leading a force of ten thousand cavalrymen from Longxi (modern Gansu) to strike at the Xiongnu. Huo’s army achieved a resounding victory, seizing control of Yanzhi Mountain and Qilian Mountain.

  • The Silk Road Pioneer: Zhang Qian [Western Han]

    •

    Juan

    A Call Beyond the Frontier In the early reign of Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BCE), a young courtier named Zhang Qian from Hanzhong served as a Langzhong – an imperial attendant. At court, defectors from the Xiongnu revealed tantalizing news: far beyond the deserts of Dunhuang, in the lands between the Tianshan…